William s



(No Model.)

W. S. SEYMOUR.

- HOK AND EYE.

No. 506,735. .Patented ont. 17, 1393.

,CA Z \\l\\ @W e UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM s. SEYMOUR, oE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIeNoE or ONE-HALE To JOSEPH S. KELLER, oE SAME PLAcE.

HOOK AND EYE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 506,735, dated October 1'7, 1893,. Application tiled April 3, 1893. Serial No.468,802. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. SEYMOUR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hooks and Eyes; and I' do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in hooks and eyes, and has for its object the making of hooks and eyes of such construction that when arranged in manner suitable for uniting the two edges of fabric to be joined, the entire series may be readily stripped or disengaged from each other by a single continuous motion, thereby greatly expediting and facilitating the operation.` The present application thus has in view the same object or function subserved by the hooks and eyes shown in my former application, Serial No. 437,197. It embodies however a different or modified specific construction and is one of the preferred forms in which I contemplate putting the invention upon the market.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a view of two pieces of fabric provided with my improved hook and eye. Fig. 2 represents in perspective separate views of the hook and eye on an enlarged scale; and Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal section of the two assembled, also on an enlarged scale.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings A, B, indicate two pieces of fabric, or the like, adapted to be fastened together along their edges Eby means of my hook and eye connection. The eye preferably consists of a b ow a of general rectangular contour provided at its ends with the re-entering loops b, as shown, whereby said eye may be sewed in the usual manner to the fabric so as to anchor the eye thereto.

The hook has the characteristic feature of embodying in its construction a bill c and co-operating guard cl whose proximate curves are adapted to admit between them the bow a, of the eye, and which overhang the eye after its admission, preventing it from being extrioated in any other way than by a sidewise tilting movement of the eye with respect to the hook. All other movements of the eye and hook with respect to each other result merely in causing the eye to move more or less within the space beneath the bill c and guard CZ but without issuing therefrom, the said bill and guard acting as safeguards against the disengagement of the hook and eye in any other than the normal manner intended.

I prefer to construct the hook from a single piece of wire, as shown, having anchoring loops e in close proximity to the bill c, and on opposite sides thereof, and having at its rear an anchoring loop f, these several anchoring places enabling the hook to retain a fixed relationship to the face of' the fabric, and to thereby facilitate the stripping operation. y o

In Fig. 3 is shown clearly the preferred relative arrangement of the bill c and guard d which, it will be noted are therein shown as normally separated at their proximate edges by a space of less width thanthe diameter of the wire of the bow a of the eye. It will also be observed that the summit of the guard d is somewhat lower than'the summit of the cooperating bill o. The function of these specie arrangements will be apparent. Thus, in assembling the hook and eye, the bow a is brought over the bill c and resting momentarily upon the guard d is caused to depress the guard d, moving it downwardly away from the bill c until the interval is suicient to admit the bow a into the space beneath. The

guard d thereupon immediately springs back to its normal position, all as shown in Fig. 3. The eye is thus securely held in place Within the hook, having all the freedom of play incident to the space beneath the bill c, and curve d, but heilig prevented from leaving that space, by reason of the said overhanging bill and guard, the ordinary movements to which either the hook or eye is subjected when in use having no tendency to disassemble them. An entireseries of the hooks and eyes may, however, be disassembled, when it is desired to do so, by a single continuous stripping motion readily applied. This is IDO eected by taking hold of one end of one of the pieces of fabric, the corresponding end of the other piece of fabric being held stationary, and causing the eyes a to be tilted sidewise one after the other and forced sidewise in the tilted position between the bill and guard, which have sufficient resiliency 4to yield and permit the passage and disengagement of the eyes. The beginning of this-movement of separation or disengagement is illustrated in Fig. l, and it will be evident that by a continuous pull upon the fabric B in the manner indicated, the entire series of hooks and eyes may be successively disassembled at a single operation. The peculiar construction of the hook also permits the series to be disassembled from either one end or the other of the meeting edges of the fabrics, according to the wish or convenience of the user, it being noted Vthat the bill and guard are exactly homologous with respect to a line drawn A longitudinally through the hook. It will be observed that the bill has an angular incline from its base upwardly to the point of nearest approach of the guard, the function of which incline is to cause the eye when being tilted to slide up along it and out through the interval between the bill and guard. Furthermore, the width of the eye is great-er than the length of the bill, which has the important function of permitting the eye when tilted sidewise to rise upon the incline of the bill and become entirely disengaged from the hook without leaving the fulcrum upon which said eye is tilted. rlhese features of my invention are not dependent upon the fact that the guard itself overhangs the eye-receiving space and I desire to Vbe understood as claiming them broadly. Havingthus described my invention, whaty I claim is 1. In a hook and eye, a hook having a guard and provided with a bill having an angular incline from its base upwardly to the point of nearest approach of the guard, whereby on tilting the eye sidewise it will be caused to ascend the incline and pass out between the bill and guard, substantially as described.

2. Ina hook and eye, a hook having a guard and provided with a bill having an angular incline from its base upwardly to the point 0f nearest approach of the guard; whereby on tilting the eye sidewise it will be caused to ascend the incline and pass out between the bill and guard, the length of the bill being less than the Width of the eye; substantially as described.

3. In a hook and eye, a hook having a guard and provided with a bill having an angular incline from its base upwardly to the point of nearest approach of the guard; whereby on tilting the eye sidewise it will ybe caused to ascend the incline and pass out between the bill and guard, and outlying anchorages at opposite sides of the bend of the bill; substantally as described.

4. In a hook and eye, a hook having arearywardly-extending bill or projection, and acooperating forwardly extending projection, said projections being separated from each other by an interval less than the diameter of the eye-bar, a free space being provided at each side of said interval, whereby the eye may be tilted sidewise to disengage it from the hook; substantially as described.

In testimonywhereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM S. SEYMOUR.

Witnesses:

JOHN I-IAvERsTIcK, JAS. F. NEALL 

